Dear Parishioners:
This weekend, we once again welcome some priests from the Pontifical College Josephinum to assist with some of the Masses. We are grateful to them for their willingness to assist us in the parish in addition to their duties with the seminarians. They bring a richness of experience and their Faith serves to build us up.
The first Reading at Mass today highlights the call of Samuel the Prophet. He is a young boy when he first hears the call, but he does not yet understand that it is the Lord Who is speaking to him. This image is often all too apt for our own experience today. Have you taught your children to listen for the voice of the Lord as they discern their own vocation? Parents and others need to invite the next generation to know the Lord, and to give the answer that Samuel learns to give: “Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening.”
As we wind down from the Christmas Season, it is not too early to make plans for Lent, which will arrive February 22. Our Parish will be experiencing a Lenten Retreat, starting with the First Sunday of Lent, and going through Wednesday. So, please, mark the dates from February 25-29 on your calendar now. Watch the bulletin for details, but make sure not to plan any Parish or School events those days. There will be an evening session from Sunday to Wednesday. Our children will also be participating, both in the School and through PSR. This is our Jubilee Year. Let it be a year of growth in Faith for you and your family.
Entering into our Golden Jubilee: Getting to know Saint Timothy.
Try to join me soon, for Demas, enamored of the present world, deserted me and went to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Luke is the only one with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is helpful to me in the ministry. I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas, the papyrus rolls, and especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. You too be on guard against him, for he has strongly resisted our preaching. At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them! (II Timothy 4:9-16)
As St. Paul comes to the close of his letter to St. Timothy, he offers some rather mundane and practical comments. This indicates the sort of friendship he had with Timothy. They shared ministry with many fellow workers in the vineyard. Paul is ready to share his frustrations, even naming those who are the source of some of his current difficulties.
We ought not to judge those mentioned as “enemies” too harshly, since it is clear that Paul often patches up his disagreements with individuals as the years go on. The mention of Titus recalls the fact that Timothy and Titus now share a Feast day, January 26. Luke is, of course, the beloved physician of Gospel and Acts of the Apostles fame. Mark is likewise the Gospel writer, who was part of the disagreement that separated Paul from Barnabas in missionary journeys. Paul seems to have been a lot of trouble to folks in the trades of working with metals (especially precious metals), which were often used to create statues and shrines to the pagan deities he denounced. It is of interest to note Paul’s request for some practical items: his cloak, left in Troas, where he first heard the call to take the Gospel to the West, and papyrus documents and parchments, likely scrolls of the (Old Testament) texts used to proclaim the fulfillment of God’s plan through Jesus Christ. Timothy is obviously one whom Paul trusted to attend to such matters on his behalf. He is also a friend who could sympathize with Paul and pray with him about his difficulties. We who have Timothy as our patron would do well to be such friends to those who walk with us on the journey of Faith.
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